The Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represents the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...

located in

Cedar Falls, Iowa Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,713. It is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university. History Cedar Falls was first settled in March 1845 by ...

. UNI is currently a member of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

Postseason results

NCAA Division I Tournament

Northern Iowa has made the NCAA tournament eight times. The Panthers have a record of 5–8.

NCAA Division II Tournament

NIT Tournament history

Northern Iowa has made the NIT twice, with a record of 2-2.

CIT Tournament history

Other tournaments

* NAIA National Tournament appearances:

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

, 1948,

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

, and

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

(2–4 combined tournament record) *Competed in the 2007 World University Games as Team USA (finished ninth)

Coaching history

Ben Jacobson era

Jacobson's biggest coaching accomplishment to date was in the 2009–10 season, when the Panthers made a run into the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament highlighted by an upset of top national seed Kansas. ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde called the Panthers' win "the biggest tourney upset in years," and called the clinching shot by Panthers guard

Ali Farokhmanesh Ali Fredrick Farokhmanesh (born April 16, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player and current Colorado State Rams men's basketball assistant coach. Farokhmanesh gained nationwide fame in the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketbal ...

"the gutsiest early-round shot in NCAA tournament history." Jacobson also coached UNI as it became the first college program ever to represent the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

of America at an international basketball competition. In August 2007, UNI was chosen to be Team USA at the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Donning the Red, White and Blue, UNI went 5–1 in the tournament, losing only to eventual gold medalist Lithuania, while posting wins over Angola, Turkey, China, Finland and Israel. On November 15, 2014, Jacobson became the all-time win leader for a coach in UNI Men's basketball history. After recording a win over his alma mater

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

, he notched his 167th UNI victory. Additionally, in the 2014–15 season, Jacobson led the Panthers to their highest ranking in school history (#10) in the AP and (#9) in the Coaches Poll. UNI also in that season achieved the most wins in the school's history with 31. Jacobson has also been awarded the

coach of the year award in 2009, 2010, and 2015. On November 21, 2015, Jacobson led UNI to a victory over #1

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The win was one of the biggest in program history and came in just the first meeting of the two basketball programs. Just four days later the coach hit another career milestone. After defeating the

University of Dubuque The University of Dubuque (UD) is a private Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian university in Dubuque, Iowa. About 2,200 students attend the university. History The University of Dubuque has had a long history in Dubuque since its foundi ...

in convincing fashion, the coach recorded his 200th victory at the university. In the first round of the MVC tournament, Jacobson notched his 250th Northern Iowa career win against Evansville on March 1, 2018.

Notable players

A. J. Green Adriel Jeremiah Green (born July 31, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Bulldogs football, Georgia and was drafted by the Cincinnati ...

Jon Godfread Jonathan Godfread is an American politician from the state of North Dakota. A member of the Republican Party, he is the North Dakota Insurance Commissioner, and has served in the role since 2016. Early life and career Godfread is from Grand F ...

* Paul Jesperson *

Adam Koch Adam Koch (born May 4, 1988) is a former American professional basketball player. He was an NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American player as a collegian at University of Northern Iowa and led the Panthers to a memorable upset of top-se ...

Greg McDermott Greg McDermott (born November 25, 1964) is an American basketball coach who has been the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team since 2010. Previously, McDermott served as the head coach at Wayne State College, North Dakota ...

Nick Nurse Nicholas David Nurse (born July 24, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach, author and former college basketball player. He is the head coach of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Canadian men's ...

- Coached

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

to 2019 NBA Championship and named NBA Coach of the Year in 2020. *

Seth Tuttle Seth Tuttle (born September 5, 1992) is an American former basketball player and current assistant coach for the Northern Iowa Panthers. He had an All-American college career at Northern Iowa (UNI). Tuttle was considered one of the top college ...

* Wes Washpun * Eric Coleman * John Little * Grant Stout

Rivalries

The school has several statewide and national rivalries. In Iowa, UNI used to play two, if not three of its Iowa neighbors for the

Iowa Big Four men's college basketball The Hy-Vee Classic consisted of games between Iowa's four NCAA Division I men's basketball teams: Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball, Iowa, Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball, Iowa State, Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball, Northern Iowa, and ...

mythical championship. The university also used to play either the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

in the

Hyvee Hy-Vee, Inc. () is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets in the Midwestern and Southern United States, with more than 280 locations in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and soon Indiana, Kentucky, ...

Big Four Classic The Hy-Vee Classic consisted of games between Iowa's four NCAA Division I men's basketball teams: Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and Drake. For 2012–2018, the rivalry consisted of a one-day two game event at Wells Fargo Arena each Decembe ...

held at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. UNI’s MVC rivals are UIC, Bradley, Drake, and Missouri State.

References

{{Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball navbox